Monday, March 24, 2014

The kids of PS22 Chorus offer up three minutes and ten seconds of pure unadulterated joy with their cover of "The Walker" by Fitz And The Tantrums!! All the elements come together for a truly winning video -- a brilliant song, an adorable solo (courtesy of Kenyatta), powerful harmony, and a passionate performance! It just doesn't get much better than this, folks!!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

PS22 Chorus pulled out all the stops for this rather amazing performance of one of my favorite songs from my childhood, "Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)" by Squeeze! The kids definitely brought new life to this 80s classic! Love this!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Last Thursday, the incredible girls of Fifth Harmony stopped by to make some music and thoroughly inspire the children of the PS22 Chorus! Making music with Fifth Harmony was an unforgettable experience for the kids, and apparently vice versa! The two groups joined together for special performances of "Miss Movin' On" and "Who Are You," and even a short rendition of "Jar of Hearts" by our previous guest, Christina Perri! The young ladies had some beautiful words for the kids which you can see/hear for yourself after the performance of "Miss Movin' On," the first video shared from this incredible afternoon! So check out the videos below, and our Fifth Harmony photo album on our Facebook page! (And see the rave reviews our version of "Miss Movin' On" has gotten from PS22's best pal and avid supporter Perez Hilton as well as entertainment blog Pop Dust.)

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Perhaps the most poignant performance ever from the PS22 Chorus, here is the beautiful "In The Embers" by Sleeping At Last. Special props to Chelsea and Dianeris for their gorgeous duet. Prepare to be moved....

It was wonderful to get such some fantastic positive feedback from Sleeping At Last (see below!) via Twitter, and also from actor Josh Radnor from How I Met Your Mother who tweeted, "Gorgeous."

Just last week, the PS22 Chorus was treated to a visit from the lovely and talented Christina Perri! Before her visit we agreed on two songs that we would prepare for the visit - "A Thousand Years" (featured in the movie Twilight) and her new single, "Human!" Oddly enough, perhaps the most special rendition of all was the unplanned "Jar Of Hearts!" This one was a last minute add-on to the setlist that we surprised her with. Christina was such a good sport, as the vocal arrangement I prepared for the kids required her to change the chord structure of her piano part in order for the harmonies to work. She spent the time to work it out with us, and what happened next was sheer magic. Another highlight is the Q&A featured on the "A Thousand Years" video which includes a Twilight war, insight to Christina's first efforts at song-writing, and chorus members Juan and Kenyatta shamelessly flirting with our guest!

Check out all the performances below!

Thanks to Mrs. Johnson for filming, and Ms. Laurie for the pics! More below!

Tori Amos

"They were so good! Their arrangements -- their sound -- it was so good.... It was...... disarming. It means so much that they took it and made it their own."-- Tori Amos after a private performance by the PS22 Chorusof her songs at the Sony Atrium in N.Y.C.

Common

"I feel honored to perform with PS22. The energy brought me up to a natural high on music and art, and just the spirits of you all. You all are so exciting to perform with..... I'm gonna remember this day forever."--hip hop legendCommonon performing with the PS22 Chorus at the National Tree Lighting 2009 for President Obama

David Cook

"Oh my God! It's ridiculous... It is incredible how good you guys are!!"-- David Cook, American Idol winner, after singing with PS22 Chorus!

Bonnie Hunt

Innocence Mission

"What a beautiful, beautiful, joyful version. It is a huge improvement on the original. The children brought tears to my eyes with their glorious singing and smiles. I so love the energy of this performance, the arrangement, the harmonies, everything."-- Karen PerisofThe Innocence Missionin apersonal message to the PS22 Chorusafter seeing the kids' video of the song "There" from their album, GLOW

Tribute WTC

Wikipedia

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IMPROVS

Improvising is a skill that really demands great natural musical ability, particularly to do it at 9 or 10 years old! All of the following songs were being created and recorded as you hear them here (with some minor post-editing). PS22 Chorus member JUSTIN, with occasional super-special guests including legendary PS22 Chorus Alumni CLIVE, DEON, BEN, ADIZA, KARIMA, BRI-AH, & AMANDA D., demonstrates the technique brilliantly.

Stevie Nicks

B.J. Novak

"My God! We watch you all the time at work, at The Office, all the actors, all the writers... You guys are amazing! I swear to you, you're an inspiration, keep it up!"-- B.J. Novak, star of The Office, raves about the PS22 Chorusat The Webby Awards!

Sinead O'Connor

"Most beautiful, joyous thing I seen apart from me own children ." -- Sinead O'Connorafter seeing the PS22 Chorus video of her song "Jackie!" PS22 was then invited to be the opening act for her concert at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

Passion Pit

"These kids made the record what we had been dreaming it to be, as they are integral parts of three songs.... It felt so unbelievable to have the exact sound that I wanted coming through the headphones...."-- Michael Angelakosof Passion Pit on recording with the PS22 Chorus

Nancy Pelosi

"...You indeed, as you sing, 'rule the world!'"--Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosiafter hearing the chorus sing at the Capitol